About the High Line

The High Line is a new public park, built on an elevated 1930s rail structure located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street. The first section of the High Line opened to the public in June 2009. The High Line is property of the City of New York, and is maintained and operated by the non-profit Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

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Today’s blog post was guest written by one of our new Greeters, Claudia Berger.

Today I was on the High Line for its first morning in operation. I was very impressed by how determined people were to see it– not even the rain could stop them. Visitors braved the rain, but none of them felt it wasn’t worth it. The morning attracted not only die-hard fans of the High Line, but some curious opponents. However, even in the rain, they could not help but enjoy it. One visitor told me she was determined to hate the High Line, but spent her time up there in awe. She loved it, rain and all.

The High Line is well on its way to becoming New York’s first park in the sky, with plants taking root in late summer and the first section on schedule to open by the end of 2008. Keep up to date with the High Line’s progress here on the Blog, written by Friends of the High Line’s staff members:

Design!

Our new Design Video, produced by Brooklyn Digital Foundry, and made possible by the Trust for Architectural Easements.

It’s not too late to join us and Alex Feleppa, director of horticulture for the Horticultural Society of New York, for a naturalist walk on the rail yards section of the High Line. The walks are this Saturday, June 7 (there are three sessions.)

We’re not usually able to bring people up to the High Line, so this is a rare chance to see it in its natural state.

Space is extremely limited and there are only a few slots left. Once they are full, you will be able to add yourself to the wait list, and we’ll contact you if there’s a cancellation.

The cost is $10 for members and $20 for non-members. Of course, you can always become a member to get early notice and discounts on programs like this in the future.

Yesterday, Jeff and I had the honor of judging the Second Annual High Line Design Competition at the Lab School in Chelsea. The competition is the culmination of a multi-week geometry unit in two of Ms. Rodriguez and Ms. Whelan’s math and science classes that uses the High Line as a model for teaching the students about scale, ratio, and area. All of the student’s designs for the High Line had to be to scale, incorporate native plants and grasses, and honor High Line planning principals.

Tomorrow night at the Leo Kesting Gallery, we will fete the opening of Chalk Shoes to the High Line, a show documenting the April 16 performance led by artist Julia Mandle that featured 60 8th-graders from the Lab School in Chelsea. The students donned shoes made from green chalk and scuffed lines along the sidewalks of the Meatpacking District and Chelsea, ending at future High Line access points. The exhibition that opens tomorrow and runs through May 21 will feature rows of the used shoes, photographs taken by the kids, and a video of the performance by Matt Wolf.

… And so can you! There are still a few spots remaining for the remaining Sketching the High Line classes with artist Ann DeVere.

Last Saturday was the first class, and it was a really wonderful experience. Ann led us through a series of warm-up exercises to get our creative juices flowing, and then we sat for few longer sketches, observing and recording the unique viewpoint we had of the High Line and its surroundings.

There are just a few spots left for our weekend sketching classes on the rail yards section of the High Line this month! The classes will be led by fantastic artist and printmaker Ann deVere, and all art supplies will be provided. No innate drawing talent or prior experience is required. Ann started giving these classes a few years ago at Wave Hill, and developed a huge following, so we feel very lucky to have her on board. This is a rare opportunity to visit the High Line, so grab your spot now!